At what age did your junior make the transition to a 26" racquet? I had my daughter do it 3 months ago (she's almost 11) but it seems like her game has slipped a notch, even though she says it feels comforable. She went from the Aero Pro Lite 25" junior frame to the adult size Aero Pro Lite after playing with the junior frame for 1.5 years.

At what age did your junior make the transition to a 26" racquet? I had my daughter do it 3 months ago (she's almost 11) but it seems like her game has slipped a notch, even though she says it feels comforable. She went from the Aero Pro Lite 25" junior frame to the adult size Aero Pro Lite after playing with the junior frame for 1.5 years.

Should I go back to the junior racquet? She'll be 11 this week.

All the Pros will chime in. My experience.

My daughter at 6 startred with Babolat AeroPro Drive GT Junior 26" Used that until she was almost 8. ~1.5 years.

At what age did your junior make the transition to a 26" racquet? I had my daughter do it 3 months ago (she's almost 11) but it seems like her game has slipped a notch, even though she says it feels comforable. She went from the Aero Pro Lite 25" junior frame to the adult size Aero Pro Lite after playing with the junior frame for 1.5 years.

Should I go back to the junior racquet? She'll be 11 this week.

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the question you're asking. Adult rackets are at least 27" so your daughter has gone from a 25" to a 27" racket in the last 3 months, correct? If yes, are you asking whether she should go back to the 25" or if you should provide a 26"?

For what it's worth your daughter should be using a full size (27") racket now. The junior rackets are all over the place when it comes to QC (weight and balance) and now is the time to ensure that she has the right racket at the right weight and balance which suits her game.

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the question you're asking. Adult rackets are at least 27" so your daughter has gone from a 25" to a 27" racket in the last 3 months, correct? If yes, are you asking whether she should go back to the 25" or if you should provide a 26"?

For what it's worth your daughter should be using a full size (27") racket now. The junior rackets are all over the place when it comes to QC (weight and balance) and now is the time to ensure that she has the right racket at the right weight and balance which suits her game.

Oops I made a math error. She started with an Aero Pro Lite junior racquet at 26". She used that for 1.5 years and has been using the 27" Aero Pro Lite since November of 2011. She'll be 11 in February.

She seems to have lost some control and she's getting frustrated. I'm wondering if the racquet's the problem and whether it would be wise to put her back on the 26" for another year, or at least to experiment to see if the racquet is the problem.

A family friend has a daughter who experienced the same as your daughter. Same rackets as you described. She's 11 now and went back to 26" and remained.
She's more comfortable with the 26" racket she's been playing with since she was 7yo. Today it serves her well enough to win jr tournaments in Austin, TX.

Oops I made a math error. She started with an Aero Pro Lite junior racquet at 26". She used that for 1.5 years and has been using the 27" Aero Pro Lite since November of 2011. She'll be 11 in February.

She seems to have lost some control and she's getting frustrated. I'm wondering if the racquet's the problem and whether it would be wise to put her back on the 26" for another year, or at least to experiment to see if the racquet is the problem.

Your thoughts?

My daughter had the same issue, and he said she would adjust. That said I was a bit skeptical but now understand why. Imagine a year from know as she gets stronger and her technique starts to solidify THEN changing to a 27".

I don't know any (I know many Top 10s/12s) that don't use a 27" Raquet. Actually We love the Drive Z lite and many consider that a more "JUNIOR" type raquet

My daughter had the same issue, and he said she would adjust. That said I was a bit skeptical but now understand why. Imagine a year from know as she gets stronger and her technique starts to solidify THEN changing to a 27".

I agree. Throughout your daughter's tennis career whether she plans to play competitively or recreationally, she will have to adjust something. It may mean adjusting her grip, her swing pattern, her movement. And the changes will at first be uncomfortable. But if she has the type of mindset that will allow her to work through the uneasiness she will improve. At the age of 11 she is totally capable of using an adult size racquet (make sure it is not too heavy). Keeping her on a junior racquet for another year would not be helpful, possibly making it more difficult for her to give it up even then.

both my daughters started using PD+ team since 6 to 7 years old. my younger one just did not play well, one day she just played my racket and everything looks so much better. then we switch from that day on, but got lots of criticizing from this forum. we switched from PD+ team to Six-one team for more control since the were 9. They both play one hand back hand and played well. I recommend the early the better. It is the technique, not the power problem.

Oops I made a math error. She started with an Aero Pro Lite junior racquet at 26". She used that for 1.5 years and has been using the 27" Aero Pro Lite since November of 2011. She'll be 11 in February.

She seems to have lost some control and she's getting frustrated. I'm wondering if the racquet's the problem and whether it would be wise to put her back on the 26" for another year, or at least to experiment to see if the racquet is the problem.

Your thoughts?

I agree that the racket may be the problem. FWIW my suggestion would be to demo other 27" rackets and not go back to 26".

By the way my son is 14 and has been using a full size racket since he was at least 10, it may take a bit of getting used to but there are more reasons to switch to a full size now than in two or three years.

By the way my son is 14 and has been using a full size racket since he was at least 10, it may take a bit of getting used to but there are more reasons to switch to a full size now than in two or three years.

Can you elaborate on why it's best to switch to full size now rather than later? She turns 11 next week. She's been using the full size for about 2 months now.

No reason a 10 year old shouldn't be able to play with an adult racket. If she's been playing with the same racket for 1.5 years of course there will be an adjustment period, just as an adult with a standard length racket would have an adjustment going to a stretched-length racket. Nothing inherently wrong with a shorter racket, just as with a longer racket - problem is the shorter rackets are made for smaller kids and won't serve well as an adult racket. She has to adjust at some point - now is better than later after she has grooved her strokes and her capabilities will be held back due to her racket.

There's a reason that standard sized rackets settle on the size of 27" and around 11oz. Because it's what most athletic adults feel natural and comfortable with. So a standard sized racket would be too long and too heavy for a typical child. Granted there are a lot of big kids these days. To me it's not so much about how old a kid is, it's the height, weight and athletic abilities that are the factors. A racket that's too unwieldy is obviously a hindrance to developing sound techniques and puts a lot of stress on the wrist.

There's a reason that standard sized rackets settle on the size of 27" and around 11oz. Because it's what most athletic adults feel natural and comfortable with. So a standard sized racket would be too long and too heavy for a typical child. Granted there are a lot of big kids these days. To me it's not so much about how old a kid is, it's the height, weight and athletic abilities that are the factors. A racket that's too unwieldy is obviously a hindrance to developing sound techniques and puts a lot of stress on the wrist.

Good point, but how can you tell if the player is not ready for the racquet? My daughter is now 11 and weighs about 90 pounds. She's on the tall side. I don't clearly see anyhting that would indicate that the racquet is too big, but it seems here control has decreased, especially on the backhand.